Hydraulic machine



Dec. 8, 1970 P. PIGUET HYDRAULIC MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Jan. 51,1969 INVENT OR ATTORNEY United States Patent US. Cl. 415-160 2 ClaimsABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The invention is applicable to a pump,turbine or turbopump of the type including a distributor between thecovers of which the guide vanes are pivotally fitted under suitablecontrol means. To eliminate the drawback of a heavy reinforcement of thecover remote from the suction pipe and the difficult accessibility ofthe guide vanes, the stresses to which the covers are subjected aretransmitted directly to the solid mass of masonry in which the turbineis built. This can be done by means of an annular series of arms fittedbetween the masonry and an outer ring forming part of said remote coverand in which the corresponding ends of the guide vanes are pivotallycarried.

The present invention has for its object a hydraulic machine, primarilya turbine, a pump or a turbo-pump including a spirally-shaped casingconnected with the Wheel through a distributor fitted between theannular covers of which one is located near the suction channel and theother includes an outer ring in which the stub shafts of the distributorguide vanes are fitted and is rigid with a central ring etxending intoproximity with the shaft carrying the wheel.

In prior hydraulic machines of this type, it is necessary in the case ofheavy duty machines to provide a particularly efiicient reinforcement ofthe cover lying at a distance from the suction channel by reason of theconsiderable load to which it is subjected. Generally, saidreinforcement is obtained by forming said cover by means of a pluralityof superposed plates connected with one another by stays. Such astructure shows however the drawback of being heavy and expensive and ofpreventing any access to the stub shafts controlling the guide vanes.The hydraulic machine according to the invention is designed so as toremove such drawbacks. It is characterized by means transmitting to themasonry surrounding the machine a portion of the load to which the outerring is subjected together with the entire load to which the centralring is subjected, independently of the portion of the load of thecontrol ring which is transmitted to the casing.

The accompanying drawings illustrate diagrammatically and by way ofexample two embodiments of a machine according to the invention. In saiddrawings:

FIG. 1 is a partial axial cross-section of a turbine of the Francistype.

' FIG. 2 is similarly a partial axial cross-section of a turbine of theKaplan type.

Referring to FIG. 1, the hydraulic turbine illustrated includes a shaft1 carrying a Francis type wheel 2 into which water is fed out of thespirally-shaped casing 3. The water passing out of said casing enters,the wheel 2 by means of a distributor 4 comprising a plurality of guidevanes 5. The trunnions or stub shafts 6 and 7 at the opposite ends ofsaid vanes are pivotally carried respectively in bearings 8 rigid with alower annular cover 10 and in bearings 9 rigid with an upper annularcover 11. Said upper cover 11 which is further from the suction channel12 than the lower cover 10, includes along its inner periphery an outerring 13 in which are fitted the bearings 9 for the upper stub shafts ofthe distributor guide vanes 5. Said upper cover 11 also carries in itsplane a central ring 14 extending between the outer ring 13 and 1ts mnerperiphery near the shaft 1 carrying the turbine wheel 2.

A connecting member 15 which may also comprise a ring overlaps the jointbetween the two rings 13 and 14.

A number of arms 16 extending in parallelism with the shaft 1 aredistributed around the shaft 1 along the connecting member 15 and servefor the transmission of a portion of the load to which the outer ring 13is subjected and the entire load to which the central ring 14 is subjected, to the solid mass of masonry 17 inside which the hydraulicmachine is erected. One of the ends 18 of the arms 16 engages thecentral ring 14 through means of the connecting member 15 whereas theother end 19 of each arm 16 engages a support 20 set inside the masonry17.

Such a structure ensures a substsantial relief of stress on the uppercover 11 of the hydraulic machine and simultaneously clears the spaceextending above the ring 13. The aforementioned space accommodates thelevers 21 which control the angular position of the guide vanes 5 asprovided by the conventional arrangement 22 which includes amultiplicity of auxiliary motors acting directly on the levers 21 or maycomprise a conventional arrangement such as a gating annulus driven byone or more auxiliary motors. A further advantage of the structuredisclosed consists in that it is possible to proceed with thedismantling of the wheel 2 of the improved hydraulic machine withoutdismantling the distributor 4 and conversely said distributor may bedismantled without affecting the wheel 2.

The second embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG. 2 comprisesagain a shaft 1 carrying a Kaplan wheel 2 fed with water out of thecasing 3 by means of the distributor 4 including angularly adjustablevanes 5. Stub shafts or trunnions rigid with said vanes are adapted topivot in the bearings 8 and 9 fitted respectively in the lower cover 10'and in the upper cover 11 of the hydraulic machine. This upper cover 11,which is farther from the suction channel 12 than the lower cover 10,includes as heretofore an outer ring 13 and a central ring 14. Saidcentral ring 14 comprises two main vertically spaced parallel platesnamely, the plate 23 which is substantially coplanar with the outer ring13 and a plate 24 lying at a short distance above the plate 23. Saidplates 23 and 24 are interconnected by stays 25 lying preferably inradial planes with reference to the shaft 1. The outer periphery of theplate 24 engages the solid mass masonry 17 surrounding the hydraulicmachine by means of the support 20 anchored in said masonry. Thus, as inthe case of the first embodiment, the major portion of the-load actingon the outer ring 13 is transmitted to the masonry 17 by the meanscomprising in the present case the inner ring structure including theplates 23 and 24 and the stays 25. This inner ring structure ensuresalso a clearing of the space required for the positioning of themultiple auxiliary motors controlling the vanes 5 by means of levers 21.In fact, the space thus cleared is sufiiciently large for it to bepossible to reach through it the arrangement controlling the guidevanes.

In either of the above-described embodiments the outer ring 13 mayobviously be secured at 26 to the casing 3 by means of screws and nuts.Of course, a portion of the load acting on the outer ring 13 is thustransmitted to the casing 3. However, the major part of the load orstress is transmitted to the masonry 17 by the means comprising, for inthe first embodiment, the annular series of arms and, in the secondembodiment, the central ring 14 and more particularly the stays 25forming part of the latter.

It should be noted that in FIG. 2 illustrating the second embodiment,the central ring 14 may serve for carrying the hydraulic machine throughits bearing.

The two above-described embodiments and the corresponding drawingsrelate to turbines. Of course, the same structure may be incorporatedwith pumps or turbopumps. In the case of a hydraulic machine comprisespumps, the distributor 4 would be replaced by the diffuser of the pump.

One of the advantages of the above-described embodiments is that upondismantling of the outer ring 13 and raising of the latter into theposition 13a, it becomes possible to shift the guide vanes upwardly andto give them a sloping position, as shown at 5a in FIGS. 1 and 2, afterwhich they may be drawn out between two adjacent outer guide vanes 27towards the inside of the casing 3 without at any moment altering theposition of the central ring 14.

I claim:

1. A hydraulic machine comprising, in a solid mass of masonry includinga suction channel, a rotary shaft, a bladed wheel rigid with said shaft,and revolvable at the end of the suction channel, a spirally-shapedcasing surrounding the shaft and wheel, two annular covers spacedaxially of and coaxial with the shaft and forming a distributor chamberconnecting the casing with the location of the wheel, an outer ringfitted along the inner periphery of the cover farthest from said suctionpipe, guide vanes pivotally carried between said outer ring and thecover nearest the suction channel, a central ring fitted along the innerperiphery of the outer ring and extending into substantial proximitywith the shaft, means fitted between the central ring and the masonryand adapted to transmit to the latter the major portion of the stressesto which the two rings are subjected, said central ring including twovertically spaced parallel annular plates and stays rigidlyinterconnecting said plates, one of said plates being substantiallycoplanar with the outer ring and fitted inside the latter and the otherplate engaging the masonry, the stresses being thus transmitted from theouter ring through the coplanar plate, the stays and the other plate tothe masonry.

2. A hydraulic machine as claimed in claim 1. including an intermediateannulus overlapping the joint between the outer ring and the platecoplanar therewith, the stresses being thus transmitted from the outerring through said coplanar plate, said stays and said other plate to themasonry.

References Cited 9/1957 Switzerland. 10/1930 Germany.

HENRY F. RADUAZO, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 415--163, 203

